1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image display, and more particularly to an image display having a flexible substrate made of, for example, a resin material.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, there has been known a flexible display using a flexible substrate made of, for example, a resin material instead of a conventional glass substrate. This is because the use of the flexible substrate improves thinning, weight saving, impact resistance, and curved display property of the image display.
However, a display panel using the flexible substrate is subjected to a stress attributed to various factors such as substrate expansion arising from heating or humidification during a manufacture process, impact in use, and distortion when curved display is conducted. Because the stress leads to such a problem that the flexible substrate is fractured, the stress becomes a major issue for practical application. In addition to fracturing of the substrate, it is confirmed that there occurs a connection failure between a semiconductor chip and a wiring terminal which are mounted on the substrate, and the substrate cracks in the vicinity of an area where a semiconductor chip is mounted.
The former problem with the substrate fracturing is recently revealed, but the latter problem with the connection failure of the semiconductor chip and crack of the peripheral substrate has been known in the pasts. For that reason, a device is made so that the stress occurring in the flexible display is not transmitted to the area where the semiconductor chip is mounted.
There is a technique that has already been put in practical use in which the semiconductor chip is mounted on the flexible substrate formed individually from the display panel, a terminal part of the flexible substrate is connected to the display panel by crimping, and a part of the flexible substrate on which the semiconductor chip is mounted is bent and stuck onto a rear surface of the substrate of the liquid crystal display panel with an adhesive tape.
Also, for example, JP-A-2003-114433, and JP-A-2005-331914 disclose other devices.
JP-A-2003-114433 discloses a technique by which in a liquid crystal image display having an auxiliary light source device, a slender cut is made in the flexible substrate to form a strip part, and a group of semiconductor chip elements related to the light source is mounted on the strip part.
JP-A-2005-331914 discloses a configuration where in a part of the flexible substrate on which the semiconductor chip is mounted, a notch is made in the substrate so as to surround a part of the semiconductor chip, and the notch allows a width of the substrate extending from an image display region to the semiconductor chip to be reduced.
However, the provision of the flexible substrate independently from the display panel as in the related art increases the member costs as much, and also requires the process costs for the cramping process.
Also, the liquid crystal image display disclosed in JP-A-2003-114433 is complicated in a cutting process, and further the formed strip part is slender. This leads to such a problem that the treatment is difficult.
Also, the flexible display disclosed in JP-A-2005-331914 is complicated in a notching process as in JP-A-2003-114433, and also requires that a wiring between the image display region and the semiconductor chip is pulled around so as to avoid the part where the notch is formed.